From Alaska to Atlanta, now finally thawing out

Common Myths about Alaska

I’ve heard a lot of myths and misconceptions about Alaska and Alaskans from the “Outside” since I moved back to the lower 48. I thought I’d take this moment to debunk a few…

“Alaska is a vast wilderness”. Ok! Well, in addition to it’s natural beauty, Alaska has a thriving and abundant cosmopolitan side as well. Most of the state’s 600,000 residents are concentrated around the main trade hubs of Anchorage and Fairbanks. Alaskans are far from cut off from the world! On any given evening, we can take in a Broadway musical, have dinner at a 5 star restaurant or go to Walmart.

“Alaskans live in snow year round” Um, no! Actually, it gets quite warm. Our summers average 70 degrees with it getting much hotter in the Interior by Fairbanks. It’s been known to be 90 degrees here. And with almost 24 hour sunshine in the summer by May, that snow melts off rather quickly!

“Alaskans live in Igloos” No, we don’t. See the above statement. We have modern houses just like the rest of the US. An igloo wouldn’t be practical here. It gets too warm in the summer and the snow does melt. Besides, we like the comfort and convience of modernization. Like plumbing, electricity and the internet. None of that is practical living in an igloo!

“You can’t drive to Alaska” Oooh! One of my favorites! Yes, you can drive up the Alcan highway through Canada to get here. And, for the most part, it’s paved now. Many, many tourists come to Alaska every summer via the Alcan. Don’t confuse us with Hawaii. We all live in igloos here, not grass huts on the beach, remember?

“Alaskan mode of travel is dog-team” While that is true in some parts of the bush where driving your average sedan is not only unreasonable, but impossible, most of us get around via car, truck, snowmachine and for those in Anchorage, we have the city bus as well. We don’t just “mush” everywhere or have to wear snowshoes when we go for a stroll. Refer to the above myth as well.

“You can see penguins walking down the street” Penguins are indiginous to the Southern Hemisphere. There aren’t any penguins living in Alaska. However, it’s not unusual to find moose mosey-ing down the road…

“Alaskan women are hairy mongrels. Alaskan women tend to be pretty ‘butch’, rather manly” Oooh! Another good one! I can assure you that most of us do shower and shave our legs regularly. And we do have day spas here and access to such things and upscale perfume and makeup! While a good number of women here aren’t hothouse flowers (we can and do go play outside when it’s cold), most of us are equipped to shovel snow, break ice and chop wood. However, most of us don’t!!! We simply don’t have to. We have modern conviences like gas heat, garages and snow plows.

And now for my very favorite…

“Alaskans don’t use American money” Nah, we still use beads and shells for currency! I do realize that Alaska is kinda isolated from the rest of the country. But, we still use American currency, speak english, have the right to vote and go to school. We Alaskans aren’t some odd ball breed. We’re still normal, red blooded Americans like the rest of you!

LOL! Matt lived in Alaska for his highschool years, I asked him if he ever dated an Eskimo:-) His mom and stepdad lived there for YEARS, but they are slowing moving permentantly here to Georgia.

Does everyone have a siberian husky in Alaska??! jk, I know they don’t because my future MIL has 2 whippets and and weinerwimer (sp).

LOL! The Alaskan Husky, which is really a mix of Northern breeds with a little greyhound and whatever else mixed in is the most popular dog by breed. Then again, anything Animal Control can’t obviously identify becomes an “Alaskan Husky”. Now I’m finding that Alaskan Huskies are being bred and sold down here in Oregon as pets.

Good post about Alaska Myths. Have you ever been to Fort Yukon? It’s where I live in Alaska. You can’t drive here, only boat or plane in. There are no restaurants whatsoever. One small store. We had a month this Winter where it didn’t get above -46 once. We had a polar bear wander into town. We get most of our meat from the Salmon in the Yukon River. I went to a dog sled race yesterday (they are still quite common). The few roads that are in town don’t get plowed very often, and the “driveways”, if you can call them that, never do. Our house (almost 2,000 sq ft.) is heated by a wood stove. We (my wife and I) cut and split our own wood. I have been living here for 2 and 1/2 years. Oh and we are both 24 years old. And we have no plans of leaving any time soon. In fact, the next time we move it will probably be to somewhere more remote, like Beaver.

🙂

Let me clear up something. I didn’t move to the lower 48 because I wanted to. I didn’t. I was transferred by my employer and I was extremely unhappy about it. However, it’s unlikely that I would have met my husband if I hadn’t been transferred. So, you win some, you lose some.

When I originally wrote that post, I was living in Anchorage. It’s from another blog, from another time. I re-printed it here for the entertainment value.

No, I haven’t been to Ft. Yukon. I do plan on coming back to Alaska and doing the tourist-y things I haven’t done yet in another year or so.

Heating a large house with only a wood stove isn’t easy. I grew up splitting wood for heat in the lower 48. Our house was about 1600 sq ft, and there are memories of my bedroom, which was at the back of the house being chilly. And, it takes a lot of split wood to heat it for fall, winter and spring. That’s about 4 cords of wood in Washington. I imagine it takes a lot more than that in Ft. Yukon though.

hi, iam in the 7th grade now and i lived in alaska for bout 5 to 7 years. i loved Alaska its the most beautiful place ever! i didn’t think when i moved here(kentucky) that any body would be as low as to think that all alaskans were eskimos and lived in igloos but boy was i WRONG! they still in the 7th grade ask me if i lived in a igloo! i think its haliorus! all of my friends are born and raised in kentucky(ecxept one shes from idaho) so when they call me an eskimo i get back at them by calling them a hillbilly! hehe! alaska’s amazing it inspired my love for nature. iam glade u posted this those myths they crack me up cuase i hear them all the time 🙂

We are looking at relocating to Alaska (Anchorage), can you give some insight as to the parts of town to avoid and the better high schools within Anchorage?

Just common sense tells me that near airport and the military base would be “no no’s” for good property values.
We’re mid – upper mid level economics.

Thank you for any advise you could provide right down to the best places to eat 🙂

The Wassil family

Actually, the military base thing doesn’t apply in Anchorage. Muldoon is right outside Ft. Rich and it’s a really nice area. I don’t know about the schools all that much because we moved before Dude started kindergarten. And the airport, has some nice neighborhoods near it, especially out towards Point Wonserof (sp?).

Areas to avoid:

Mountain View- I wouldn’t live there, (low income, gang and drug infested as of 3 years ago) but there’s a nice cafe called “Noble’s” that I recommend trying some time.

Fairview- Just stay away. Worse than Mountain View Area.

And last I heard, south Anchorage was becoming an issue. At least it was often in the news the last few months we were there.

Muldoon seems to be an up and coming area for middle class families. Also, a lot of people tend to live out in the valley.

Ahh but these myths are all true! (At least that’s what I let my college friends think, so don’t blow my cover ;))

I graduated from high school in Alaska, and two years of being homesick later I still change my desktop to an Alaskan photo every month or so.

On a separate note, to the Wassil family– DEFINITELY avoid Mountain View and Fairview! I lived in a suburb of Anchorage called Eagle River, which is a really nice area about 15 minutes from downtown Anchorage. Chugiak High School (about 10 minutes the opposite direction) is one of the best in the Anchorage School District– not that I’m biased! Good luck in your hunt!

I did the desktop thing a lot when I first left Alaska. I really missed it. I still miss it, but the ache has eased. It’s only taken almost 3 years and a marriage for that to happen.

hi! my family and I will be moving from Tenn. to Fortwainwright Alaska . I have a million questions. I guess the 1st being is it a nice town , anyone ever been/lived there? Are there schools on base? Thats a good start. I loved the above post btw, debunking some common myths. So funny how people can be at times. I am very excited any cool tips you could give as to the life adjustment changes we may encounter and may not be thinking of yet? Cheers!

Sorry, Brit. I can’t tell you anything about Ft. Wainwright as I haven’t been there.

Do you know of any other myth’s about alaska? Specifically Anchorage? I’m doing a project about Anchorage and was hoping you could give me some information on some non-ordinary things happening in alaska. This would be very awesome (:

Have you read the book, Johnny’s Girl? It’s based on the history of Anchorage. Might give you some ideas.

Thank you for the wonderful article. It was very interesting. My family and I are thinking about moving to Alaska for a job opportunity so I appreciated the information. I guess my question is what things were different for you moving to the lower 48? That might help me understand some of the differences. For example, we lived in Illinois for most of my life and about five years ago we moved to Indiana. You would think there would not be many differences because the two states are sister states, but we were shocked by some of the differences. Ex.) They have a conceal carry law in Indiana and that isn’t legal in Illinois. They also measure the differences between to locations differently. In Illinois they measure the distance between towns from the town border. In Indiana they measure the distance from the exact center of the town. So you can be driving along and it will say next town in 5 miles and you drive 3 miles and the next sign says town in 4 miles. Taxes are cheaper in Indiana vs. Illinois and the job market is better in Indiana than Illinois. Do you have any things like this you have noticed that might help me get the “feel” of Indiana better? Also if any other Alaskans reading this want to offer information, I will be checking back regularly. Again, thanks for the information!!

I was from the lower 48 to begin with, so it was a culture shock initially when I moved there. For me, it was like stepping back in time to the 1950s. Everyone is polite, everybody helps everybody else. If you break down, at least 5 vehicles will stop to help you. Why? Because it can be a matter of life and death. Hitch hiking isn’t unusual, and it’s quite safe to pick someone up. Usually they live out of town and need to get to the doctor’s or the store (this is outside the larger cities of course, not in say, Anchorage or Fairbanks). If you’re carrying something heavy, someone walking by will probably offer to assist. Alaska also isn’t very P.C., but it adds to the charm and is refreshing to have people say what they think, rather than hint at it under subtle layers of drivel as they do down here. You have to live through 2 winters before you really judge Alaska. Because those winters might get to you and color your perspective. Buy flexible soled boots for walking across icy parking lots, and stock up on ice grips and yak traks. Ice melt is your friend. And so are block heaters. Celebrate the differences between Alaska and the lower 48. Revel in the fact it’s safe for your kids to play outside. There isn’t much stranger danger fear up there. (My son had no concept of stranger danger at age 5). Enjoy your time there. Revel in the beauty. Wake up and be amazed at what Mother Nature can do every day.

Where would you recommend living-Anchorage or Juneau? FYI seeing wildlife is a MUST for me.
Thanks!

Since the only way in or out of Juneau is air or water, I recommend Anchorage. But, that’s my preference. From Anchorage, you can drive so many places and see so many things! Plus, if you have pets, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve been told by vets that Juneau has fleas. Anchorage, on the other hand, does not. No need for flea and tick meds there!